Swiss cities Olten and Solothurn gain digital screens with emergency alert capabilities

APG|SGA expanded its digital out-of-home advertising infrastructure in the Swiss cities of Olten and Solothurn through partnerships announced November 12, 2025. The deployment brings 32 screens to public spaces across both municipalities, converting ten analogue city map systems to digital formats while establishing emergency communication capabilities that allow authorities to immediately override all displays during crises.

The Olten installation comprises 16 City ePanels manufactured in custom colors specified by municipal officials to harmonize with historic surroundings. Solothurn received six City ePanels as part of its modernization program. All screens occupy prime locations throughout both cities, with the municipal governments retaining one-third of broadcasting time for non-commercial content including cultural event promotion, political information, and official announcements.

The projects represent a departure from traditional advertising-only digital signage by integrating public service functionality. Both cities can activate an emergency override system that commandeers all screens—both commercial advertising displays and city map systems—to warn populations about floods, fires, kidnappings, or other extraordinary circumstances requiring immediate public notification.

APG|SGA provides dedicated content management system software enabling municipal staff to schedule their own broadcasts without technical intermediaries. The cities control their allocated time segments directly through this platform, which operates independently from the commercial advertising management infrastructure.

Olten, located at the southern foot of the Jura mountains where the Aare river cuts through the region, serves as an important railway junction connecting Zurich, Basel, Bern, and Lucerne. The city recorded 19,051 residents according to December 31, 2024 statistics. Solothurn, positioned approximately 25 kilometers north of Bern, functioned as the French ambassador's seat during the Old Swiss Confederacy period between the 16th and 18th centuries. The municipality counted 16,847 inhabitants as of December 31, 2024.

The installations follow APG|SGA's mixed first-half 2025 financial performance, when the company reported advertising revenue of CHF 148.2 million—a 1.5% decline compared to the same period in 2024. That performance occurred against broader Swiss market conditions showing traditional media advertising expenditure falling 3.9% according to Media Focus statistics. Digital transformation represents the company's central strategic theme, with infrastructure expansion including installations in St.Gallen, Schaffhausen, and Europe's highest Mountain ePanel on the Jungfraujoch.

The Olten and Solothurn projects demonstrate how digital out-of-home advertising infrastructure can serve dual purposes—generating commercial revenue while providing municipalities with public communication channels. The emergency override functionality addresses municipal requirements for rapid population notification systems, while the time-sharing arrangement enables cities to maintain regular communication with residents without operating separate digital signage networks.

Switzerland's outdoor advertising landscape faces regulatory pressures in some municipalities. Zürich's parliament voted 58-57 on March 19, 2025, to restrict advertising in public spaces and completely ban moving digital advertising screens. The narrow margin reflected intense debate between left-wing parties advocating restrictions and business interests opposing the measure. The Zürich city council must develop implementation ordinances within two years, though officials questioned whether such changes could be legally implemented given cantonal regulatory frameworks.

The global digital out-of-home advertising sector continues expanding through programmatic buying capabilities. VIOOH announced partnerships throughout 2025 that extended programmatic access to premium screens across multiple markets including the United States, Colombia, Brazil, Denmark, and London. These deployments enable automated buying, real-time optimization, and data-driven audience targeting rather than manual negotiations and fixed placement schedules.

Research released October 24, 2025, demonstrated that out-of-home advertising achieves a marginal return on investment of $7.58 per incremental dollar invested—surpassing the average media type marginal ROI of $5.52 and exceeding print, radio, and linear television. Despite these results, OOH accounts for less than 1% of all media spending. Digital out-of-home represents 41% of the $52 billion OOH market in 2025.

The technical specifications of APG|SGA's deployments were not disclosed in company materials. The screens support standard digital display formats enabling both static and motion content. The content management system provided to municipal authorities operates on software-as-a-service principles, with cities accessing the platform through web-based interfaces rather than installing local software.

For advertisers targeting audiences in Olten and Solothurn, the inventory becomes available through APG|SGA's commercial booking systems. The screens occupy high-traffic locations throughout both cities, providing visibility to residents, commuters, and visitors moving through urban centers. The custom color specifications requested by Olten officials—designed to blend with surrounding architecture—represent an unusual municipal aesthetic requirement in digital signage deployments.

The emergency communication functionality addresses a challenge facing many municipalities: how to rapidly notify populations during crises. Traditional alert systems rely on sirens, radio broadcasts, or mobile phone applications. Digital signage networks provide additional channels that reach people in public spaces who may not have immediate access to other communication methods. The ability to override commercial content ensures messages display without delay during emergencies.

Municipal control over one-third of screen time enables cities to promote local cultural events, announce policy changes, display election information, or communicate other official matters directly to residents. This arrangement reduces municipal dependence on commercial media channels for public communication while generating revenue through the remaining commercial advertising time.

The projects align with broader trends in smart city infrastructure development, where municipalities seek technology deployments that serve multiple purposes. Rather than installing separate systems for advertising, public information, and emergency communication, integrated platforms reduce infrastructure duplication and operational complexity. Cities benefit from modern communication channels without bearing full deployment and maintenance costs, while advertising companies gain premium screen locations with municipal endorsement.

Switzerland's advertising market recorded CHF 2.8 billion in total expenditure during 2024 according to industry estimates, with out-of-home advertising representing approximately 7% of total spending. APG|SGA maintains market leadership in Swiss outdoor advertising through comprehensive offerings spanning traditional poster campaigns, digital screens, transport advertising, and specialized formats. The company generates 95.1% of revenue from Switzerland, with Serbia contributing 4.9% according to first-half 2025 financial disclosures.

The Olten and Solothurn deployments occurred as digital out-of-home adoption accelerates globally. Programmatic buying enables advertisers to purchase outdoor advertising space through automated systems, optimizing campaign delivery through machine learning and data analysis. These capabilities bring outdoor advertising measurement and buying processes closer to standards established in online display and mobile advertising.

Timeline

• November 12, 2025: APG|SGA announces deployment of 32 digital screens across Olten and Solothurn with emergency override capabilities
• July 25, 2025: APG|SGA reports first-half 2025 results showing 1.5% revenue decline amid challenging Swiss advertising market
• March 19, 2025: Zürich parliament votes 58-57 to restrict advertising in public spaces and ban moving digital screens
• February 12, 2025: JCDecaux launches programmatic DOOH at Dubai airport with 378 premium screens
• January 27, 2025: AFA Decaux expands DOOH network in Denmark with VIOOH partnership covering 238 screens
• December 17, 2024: FRAMEN and VIOOH partnership introduces programmatic advertising screens across Australian coworking spaces
• October 24, 2025: Research shows out-of-home delivers $7.58 marginal ROI per incremental dollar invested
• October 28, 2025: VIOOH partners with BIG OUTDOOR to add 130 US screens generating 677 million monthly impressions
• August 26, 2025: VIOOH partners with Vengo for US expansion providing access to 65,000 screens

Summary

Who: APG|SGA, Switzerland's leading out-of-home media company, partnered with the municipal governments of Olten and Solothurn to deploy digital advertising infrastructure with integrated public service capabilities.

What: Deployment of 32 digital screens across two Swiss cities, converting ten analogue city map systems to digital formats. The installations include emergency override functionality enabling authorities to commandeer all displays during crises, while municipalities retain one-third of broadcasting time for cultural events, political information, and official announcements. Olten received 16 custom-colored City ePanels, while Solothurn received six.

When: The announcement occurred November 12, 2025, with deployments completed by that date. The projects represent part of APG|SGA's broader digital expansion strategy following the company's first-half 2025 financial results announced July 25, 2025.

Where: Olten, a railway junction city of 19,051 residents at the Jura mountains' southern foot, and Solothurn, a municipality of 16,847 inhabitants located 25 kilometers north of Bern that historically served as the French ambassador's seat during the Old Swiss Confederacy period.

Why: The projects address multiple objectives: providing APG|SGA with prime advertising locations in two significant Swiss municipalities, enabling cities to communicate directly with residents through allocated screen time, and establishing emergency communication infrastructure allowing authorities to override commercial content during crises such as floods, fires, or kidnappings. The deployments align with APG|SGA's digital transformation strategy as traditional Swiss advertising market expenditure declined 3.9% during first-half 2025.